


Poker Face

by caramelariana



Series: A Very Drarry Christmas [15]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Corny, Fluff, M/M, christmas in july
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caramelariana/pseuds/caramelariana
Summary: Draco and Ron play a game of chess.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: A Very Drarry Christmas [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/195611
Kudos: 31





	Poker Face

**Author's Note:**

> Another entry to the Very Drarry Christmas collection. As with the others, this one was originally written in 2011. Happy Christmas in July!

Harry leaned back from the table and closed his eyes in satisfaction. Molly had really outdone herself this Christmas. She always overdid it for the holidays, but this Christmas there was definitely a bit extra. It may have been that she was trying to impress a certain blond guest.

Draco was still politely eating his chocolate mousse pie (which Molly had made as soon as she found out it was Draco's favorite) and studiously ignoring the poor table manners of the Weasley men. Harry liked to tease him about being such a slow eater, but in reality the Slytherin was just polite. The only other person who still had dessert on her plate was Molly, and that's because she was too busy talking. Hermione and Ginny had both polished off their pies, ignoring the stereotype of girls being delicate eaters.

"That really was delicious, Mum," Hermione said with a smile.

Molly blushed. "Why thank you Hermione! I do try." She turned her gaze to the blond, who was just scooping up the last of his pie. "How about you Draco? Did you enjoy the pie?" She wrung her hands in what Harry had come to know as a nervous gesture.

Draco allowed his lips to form a small smile, a feat that had taken months of exposure therapy with the Weasleys. "Dinner was great. And your pie is delicious. I wonder if you could share the recipe with me some time."

Molly beamed and Harry hid a smile behind his hands. Everyone knew the best way to compliment a great cook was to ask for their recipe. Draco could be such a suck-up sometimes. He jumped when he felt a kick to his shin and looked up to see Draco's glare. Harry just grinned. Apparently his boyfriend knew exactly what he'd been thinking.

"So, Malfoy," George said. "I hear you have a knack for Wizard's Chess." His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Ronnie-kins here can play a mean game. What say you have a match?"

Ron immediately began berating George for the use of the childish name in present company, but Draco cut him off. "I suppose a friendly game of chess can't be too bad."

Ginny snorted. "He's never seen Ron play. Friendly my a—"

"Ginevra Weasley!"

"—apricot," she finished lamely. She shot a grin at her mother. "What did you think I was going to say?" Molly just harrumphed and waved her wand to begin clearing the table.

The group gathered in the den and the chess board was immediately set up. It soon became clear that Ron and Draco were pretty evenly matched, with Draco just barely beating Ron. Ron immediately called for a rematch; after he won the second game it was determined that the best of three would be crowned champion. When Ron won the third the impromptu tournament would have easily continued except by then both Hermione and Harry were falling asleep in their seats. Harry informed Draco it was time to go home and Hermione forced Ron away from the chess board. As they all said their goodbyes, Harry was amazed that the competition hadn't come to blows.

"Weasley is a decent chess player," Draco said once they had flooed to Harry's flat. "Quite skilled, actually."

Harry shook his head in amazement. "Did you just give Ron a compliment?" he asked incredulously. "If he was here to hear that he'd have a heart attack."

"It's a good thing he'll never hear it then," Draco said easily.

The brunet just chuckled. "You did take losing rather well."

Draco shrugged. "Of course I did. I let him win the third one."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sure you did, Draco."

"I don't really care if you believe me," Draco said without malice. "He made a mistake and put his queen in a vulnerable position. I could have taken her but chose not to. He knew what he'd done too; I could see it in his face. He practically cheered when I seemed to miss the opportunity."

"Then why did you let him win?" Harry asked, confused.

"It was the first time I'd been to their home. It would be a disgrace if I'd beaten him in his own home upon my first visit."

"So why try to go for the fourth game?"

"Well, I couldn't make it look like I'd given in. Honestly, Harry, do you know nothing about polite society?"

Harry shook his head but decided not to continue that particular vein of conversation. "You should really be impressed that you beat him at all. No one I know has ever beaten him."

"He's a good player, I'll give you that," Draco said, moving into the kitchen to make some tea. Harry followed him. "However, he has a horrible—what's that muggle saying?—poker face."

Harry chuckled. "How so?"

"He wears his moves on his face. His eyes dart to every possible move. His opponent need only follow his gaze. He lingers on the move he finally decides on and he stares at the move he doesn't want his opponent to make."

"Oh," Harry said, not knowing what else there was to say. Honestly he'd never known there were that many subtleties to chess. "I suppose you don't give that kind of stuff away."

Draco sniffed. "Of course not, I'm a Slytherin. I've been trained to lie with a straight face, and not give anything away."

"So you could be lying when you say you love me?" Harry asked teasingly.

Instead of jumping to reassure Harry of the opposite, Draco just hummed. "It's possible."

Harry chuckled and wrapped his arms around Draco. "I know you love me," he said confidently.

"How's that?" Draco asked, pouring two cups of tea.

"Maybe you're not as Slytherin as you think."

Draco snorted. "Doubtful." He turned around to face Harry, eyes full of laughter.

"Oh really?" Harry asked, hanging his arms loosely around Draco's neck. "Then how come I can see how much you love me in your eyes?"

The blond's lips quirked in that self-conscious smile that always startled Harry; but Harry absolutely loved it. "You've clearly had adequate time for Draco decoding."

"Draco decoding?" Harry asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes dear," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "It's a very subtle art, and quite frankly I'm surprised you've picked up on it."

"So some poker faces are readable?"

"If you stare at it long enough," Draco responded. "Do you like staring at my poker face?" he asked with a grin.

"I love your poker face," Harry said. He leaned in to prove it.


End file.
